Bangor City Council hears a heated debate on Waterfront concert noise

BANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER)-- The Waterfront Concert series brings thousands of people to Bangor during the summer season. Businesses are cashing in on the new visitors and the local economy continues to receive a boost. But there are some people complaining that the crowds and big acts bring unwanted noise.

Monday night the city council heard from a packed room of residents. Someargued the volume needs to be turned down while otherssee the nownoise as the sound of expansion.

During the meeting residents were told the noise ordinance does not apply to the concerts. The responsibility of making sure the concerts do not become a nuisance falls under the DEP. According to Tracey Willette with Parks and Recreation, all the concerts this year have fallen under the guidelines set by the DEP.

Noise complaints were on the rise after last week's Mayhem Festival, an all day event that includes hard rock music. Fans of the genre saw this as a personal attack on a specific type of music and not the noise.

Jason Foley a life long Bangor resident said, "We are dancing around an issue that this is an attack on one genre of music and one particular group of people because it's just funny how we are having this meeting now after this concert."

Peter Nowell of Bangor argued the noise is ruining the city, "When mycivil right to live in a relatively peaceful environment is greeted with scorn and obstinate disregard, I have to question the priorities of those who determine the parameters of what constitutes a quality place to live."

Those that disagree with opponents see the Waterfront Concerts as a large boost to the local economy and a sign of expansion in the Queen City.

Local business owners stood before the council and attendees to thank them for the concert series and explaining the boost it has given to their business.

Earlier this year the University of Maine did a study and found over the past three years the Waterfront Concerts brought in $30 million to the area.

City Councilor Ben Sprague said, "With the amount of growth that Bangor's had in recent years, there's going to be some growing pains that come along with that. I think that's what we are seeing here."

The council will continue to work with residents and organizers to find a happy medium. One request made by Parks and Recreation is that when residents want to make a noise complaint to contact their office at 992-4490. This will help keep a more accurate account of complaints.